


A Love Of A Lifetime Can Come Around Twice

by youretheone



Series: Once Upon A Time In Neverland [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2113443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youretheone/pseuds/youretheone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After everything he and David had been through, the last thing Killian Jones wanted to do, was to make sure Prince Charming and Snow White fell in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hook groaned as his body hit the hard ground, the first thing he felt was dried mud beneath him and the smell of trees hit his nostrils. So they were probably still in the Enchanted Forest.

“David?” he asked as he turned his head and caught sight of the prince next to him, sighing a breath of relief when the other man seemed okay.

“Yeah, right here.” David said as he got up from the ground and brushed some dirt of his clothes before he reached out and gave Hook a hand as well. “You alright?”

Hook nodded once and took in the scenery “Looks like we’re still in the Enchanted Forest, the question is when?”

“I don’t understand why the portal was even active.” David said “We are sure that Zelena was dead, right?”

Hook nodded “Positive.” He said, before taking a few steps before he caught sight of something a little disturbing. “Mate, I think I have an idea of when we are.”

“What?” David asked as he went to stand by Hook and saw what Hook was looking at. “Oh.”

Hook peeled the wanted poster of Snow White from the tree and held it up “Looks familiar, doesn’t she?”

“Great.” David said with a groan. “How are we going to get back?”

Hook shrugged, not sure what to say. It wasn’t as if they could ask Regina for help, and he and Rumpelstilskin was not on the best terms at the time, to say the least.

“Aren’t you the prince?” He asked “Don’t you know a sorcerer that could help us?”

David bit his lip and shook his head “One powerful enough to bring us back? I think we only have one option here.”

“I was worried you’d say that.” Hook replied as he scratched the back of his neck with his hook. “First thing first, we have to make sure we don’t change anything that will affect the future.”

David agreed, “No one can see us, especially me.” He said.

“Where are you at the moment anyway?” Hook asked “The other you that is.”

David was the one to shrug then, as they started walking, looking for the main road. “Could be anywhere, I guess.” He answered, “Off fighting a dragon, on my way to get married, pining over Snow somewhere.”

Hook smiled “Let’s hope we won’t need to find out then.” He said “But in the meantime, let’s keep the odds in our favor, shall we?”

He took a step closer to David and draped the hood of his cape over his head “There, now at least you’re not _that_ recognizable.”

“The last thing we need is to do exactly what Zelena wanted and change the future.” David said “At least Regina is alive.”

“The Evil Queen, you mean?”

David nodded on sigh “Yeah, this can be more problematic than we thought.”

“You’re telling me, mate.”

“So why do you think we were sent back to this time?” David asked, and Hook wasn’t sure if he should answer that, even though he thought he knew the answer.

“Maybe it works like any other portal and takes you to the place, or time, that you’re thinking of?” He suggested, feeling a little insecure and hoping David wouldn’t ask anything else.

He wasn’t so lucky.

“What do you mean?” David asked then, “I wasn’t thinking about this time when I fell through.”

“Might have been my fault.” Hook replied, keeping his voice low, not wanting to give anything away.

“Okay, care to explain?”

Hook took a deep breath “Before we noticed the portal, when you were kissing me, I might have wondered what it would have been like if you and I had met first.”

David didn’t answer at first, just gave one nod in understanding before he continued walking again. He didn’t seem upset, just deep in thought. It was a good thing they were both familiar with the place, even if it was several years ago, because it didn’t take too long before they found the main road and was heading towards the dark one’s castle where Rumpelstilskin was currently living.

“Emma isn’t born yet.” David suddenly said after they had been walking in silence for a while.

“I know what you’re thinking, love, but you can’t try to change what happened.” Hook said “I know you missed out on her growing up, but if you try to change anything then who knows what could happen thirty years from now?”

David nodded “I know, you’re right, but…”

“Yeah, I know.” Hook said and offered him a comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder. As they approached a fallen tree, Hook suddenly registered the sound of hoofs, and he quickly drew David into the bushes on the side of the road to hide them from sight.

“Hope it’s not any black knights.” Hook whispered “Last thing we need is Regina seeing us.”

There weren’t any black knights on horses though, only a few knights dressed in silver and white, and a horse-drawn carriage.

“I know that carriage.” David whispered as the carriage stopped in front of the fallen tree, “I know when we are.”

Hook almost wanted to laugh when he saw a younger version of David jumping out of the carriage and checking out the tree.

“But that means-“ he said, keeping his voice low as he looked up at the tree next to them. Hook, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his eyes of the other David.

He looked so young, and not only in appearance. It was clear in his eyes that he had not seen the worst and cruelest of the world yet. Hook wasn’t sure if it was possible to fall in love again with the same person, but if it was, he was doing it right that moment.

Then his eyes went up to where David was looking, leaning on a twig he noticed a figure in the tree next to them. Who was that? Before he could ask David, the twig he was leaning on snapped and the person fell down.

“Snow!” David exclaimed through gritted teeth, and then Hook registered what was going on and quickly made David duck down again.

“She can’t see you!” He said, just as the other David declared that the tree in the road had been cut and that there was an ambush.

Glancing once at Snow, the girl, yes, she was but a girl still, shook her head once before she ran off into the forest. Hook cursed under his breath and hoped that Snow wouldn’t remember his face, and luckily she hadn’t seen David’s. So much for not disturbing anything.

The carriage took off then, and Hook let out a happy sigh of relief before noticing the look on David’s face. “What is it?” he asked “Don’t worry, Snow remained unharmed.”

“Yes.” David answered “But we just disturbed our first meeting.”

“What?”

David looked at him “This was when Snow and I was supposed to meet, she would steal my engagement ring and I would run after her.”

Well, that could change a few things.

“Wait, you were engaged to someone else?” Hook asked, and David just looked at him in disbelief.

“Really?” He asked “That was what you gathered from the story?”

Hook shrugged and got up to his feet, David following. “Didn’t know you were such a charmer, well, your nickname does suggest-“

“Hook!” David exclaimed, a little distraught. Hook was so used to the prince calling him by his birth name now that the nickname seemed kind of wrong coming from David’s lips, at least in such a tone. “We need to fix this.”

“Right then.” Hook said “Bringing you and Snow back together wasn’t how I had planned to spend my day, but why not.”

He knew he shouldn’t be jealous, after all, this David didn’t even know him and if they didn’t get Snow and David back together, who knows if David and him would ever get together at all.

“Killian…”

“Apologies.” He said “You are right of course.”

“Don’t apologize.” David said “But this pretty much wiped away Emma’s existence and I won’t risk my daughter for anything.”

“You still remember her, so that must mean something?” Hook suggested.

“Maybe.” David said “But I still remember everything like it once was, so maybe while we are here, the two timelines co-exist and if anything changes, it won’t matter until we get back?”

“Seems reasonable.” Hook said “So, to the dark castle, then?”

“I’m sure he’s missed you.”


	2. Chapter 2

«Behold, the dark castle.» Hook said as they stood upon a hill, seeing the castle in the distance. David took a deep breath. It felt almost unreal to be back in this time, he remembered everything so well, but it still seemed like he had lived a completely different life.

“Should we just go down there?” David asked “I mean, it’s pretty crucial that he doesn’t recognize our faces in the future right?”

“Maybe you could go down there and explain the situation to him.” Hook said “With our past, he would probably kill me on the spot.”

“You’re right about that.” A familiar voice said and the two of them turned around, startled. There he was, Rumpelstilskin himself. David almost felt shivers down his arms as he took in the man; it had been so long since he had seen him in the lizard-like skin with those cold eyes. It was a huge reminder of how much all of them had changed.

He didn’t have much time to examine him though, because before he knew it, Rumpelstilskin was letting out a happy shriek before holding up his hands and choking Hook with a magical hold around his neck.

“Stop it!” David yelled.

“I don’t know what you are doing here, little prince.” Rumpelstilskin said “But run along now so I can enjoy my killing in peace.”

David desperately tried to think of something that would make the dark one listen to him, he wasn’t exactly reasonable these days. “Listen to me or you’ll never see Baelfire again!”

Rumpelstilskin looked at him then and David immediately understood that he had gotten through to him, knowing he was telling the truth. If there was one thing he and Rumpelstilskin used to have in common, it was their desperation of finding their children again. 

Letting Hook go, he turned to David. “What do you know about my son?”

“I know you are trying to reenact a curse in hopes of reuniting with him.” David said and Rumpelstilskin looked him up and down.

“How do you know that?” he asked “I know you are not a sorcerer, boy.”

“You’re right.” David said, glancing once to the side to see Hook getting up from the ground. “My daughter is the one who breaks the curse.”

“What?”

“She’s the product of true love.” David explained, trying to fight the urge to make sure Hook was okay, knowing he had gone through a lot these past couple of days.

“That’s speculation.” Rumpelstilskin said, looking as confused as ever. “I haven’t done any of this.”

David nodded and let out a breath “But you will, you’ll succeed.”

It took a moment before Rumpelstilskin realized what they were actually saying and stared at them both in disbelief. “If that’s true, then that means-“

“We’re from the future, mate.” Hook said, trying to sound calm and believing, even though David was sure that Hook knew he wasn’t the most trustworthy man in Rumpelstilskin’s eyes.

“No one has been able to time travel, ever.” He said then and David let out another sigh, wishing Belle had been there, then they would have been half-way home already.

“Well, someone managed to figure it out.” David said “And now we need your help.”

“We need to get back home to our time.” Hook explained, taking a step to stand next to David.

“My _help?”_ Rumpelstilskin asked and snickered “Answer me this then, do I find my son?”

David looked to Hook then and smiled, before turning back to Rumpelstilskin “Yes.”

It was weird seeing so much humanity and happiness in Rumpelstilskin’s face when he was still The Dark One. Somehow it seemed twisted, and wrong, but at the same time it brought hope.

“One more thing, what are you doing with him?” He asked and gestured to Hook “Never mind, I don’t want to know anything that might throw things off.”

David felt a pinch of guilt then “It might already be too late for that.”

“You managed to change things, didn’t you?”

David was actually a little offended by the lack of surprise in Rumpelstilskin’s voice, like he was expected them to screw something up.

“We interrupted Snow White and David’s first meeting.” Hook said then, and looked down at the ground “The parents of Emma, the product of true love.”

There it was; the surprised look David was waiting for.

Following Rumpelstilskin to his castle was so unsettling; David couldn’t help but think about how much the fact that Rumpelstilskin knew everything would change things. He was just hoping The Dark One would figure out a way to fix that as well.

“There’s still one thing I can’t seem to figure out.” Rumpelstilskin said as they went inside “Why haven’t I killed him?” he asked and pointed to Hook.

“It wasn’t because of a lack of effort, I can tell you that much.” Hook said “We kind of buried the hatchet, I guess.”

“Yes, but why not in your skull?”

“That’s enough!” David said, suddenly feeling very protective of Hook even though he knew that Rumpelstilskin wouldn’t risk hurting him under the circumstances.

“You care about him.” Rumpelstilskin said in fascinated voice, before anyone could answer though, another familiar face popped through the doors.

“Oh, Rumpelstilskin, you’re back.” Belle said with a smile on her face, as usual. “Did you need anything?” she asked before noticing the people in the room “Oh.”

“Belle.” David said on a breath and smiled to her.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” She asked and David realized his mistake, earning a glare from Hook. 

“No, sorry.” He said “It’s just Rumpelstilskin- the dark one, has told me about you.”

She seemed both surprised and pleased by that “He has?”

It was both unsettling and quite amusing to see Rumpelstilskin and Belle bicker back and forth; she had clearly never been very scared of The Dark One, even back then. As he sent her away, he couldn’t help but mutter “it’s a miracle you two fell for each other” under his breath before realizing his mistake.

“What?” Rumpelstilskin asked and Hook scoffed.

“Good work, love.” He said sarcastically and David could only groan in frustration.

“First you tell me that I didn’t kill the pirate for some reason, then you tell me I fell for the help?” He asked and David was thankful for the fact that Hook seemed to be able to help him out with a piece of his charm.

“He has an awful humor.” Hook said “But let’s get back to the issue at hand shall we?”

“Yes.” Rumpelstilskin said, still a little suspicious. “Your daughter is the product of true love?”

“Yes.” David said.

Rumpelstilskin sat down and rested his hands on the table “And Snow White is the mother.”

“Yes.”

“But you are supposed to be on your way to marry king Midas’ daughter.” Rumpelstilskin said, and David wiped a hand over his face. Yes, he was well aware of how complicated the situation was, he had lived it once already.

“That marriage isn’t supposed to happen.” David said before explaining the story of how it was supposed to have went down before they had interfered.

“We need to get Snow to steal that ring.” David said then after Rumpelstilskin seemed to believe what they were saying.

“The ball tonight.” Rumpelstilskin said and David sighed.

“Right.”

“What ball?” Hook asked in confusion.

David turned to face him then “There was a ball to celebrate my engagement to Abigail at king Midas’ castle.”

“Then we only need to get Snow there, wherever she may be.” Hook said, and it didn’t go unnoticed by David how quiet and worried Hook had seemed ever since they had landed in the past.

“Allow me.” Rumpelstilskin said as he used his magic to bring a crystal ball to life, showing Snow in a tavern talking to a dark-haired figure.

“Blackbeard.” Hook said on a breath.

“Really?” David asked, remembering the storied Hook had told about the man, back in Neverland.

Hook nodded “She’s looking to secure a passage on a ship.” He said, keeping his eyes on the crystal ball and the scene unfolding.

“She’s failing.” Rumpelstilskin said as they watched Blackbeard leave the table.

“Is she supposed to get away?” Hook asked.

“She was supposed to use the money she would get for the ring.” David said “To escape Regina.”

“Quite the ripple effect you’ve managed to set off.” Rumpelstilskin commented “I can start working on a way to open the portal again.”

“Great!”

“But getting back together with Snow White?” Rumpelstilskin continued, “That’s on you, it’s your mess, and only you know how to fix it.”

“All this time I’ve tried to win you over and I end up literally pushing you back to your true love.” Hook said jokingly, but David noticed at once that it wasn’t a joke to the other man.

“Killian-“

“If she is looking to secure passage on a ship.” Hook said, cutting David off “I think I know a pirate that could help.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so struggling with this story, I told myself I wasn't going to start posting it until I was finished writing all the chapters, but i've written up to chapter 6 so we'll see how it goes! :) Thanks for your kudos and your comments!

«I look rather dashing, don’t I?» Hook asked as they sat down in the corner of the tavern, studying Hook’s past self. 

David wasn’t sure if he enjoyed watching Hook getting ridiculously drunk with a hoard of women swooning over him, but he tried to tell himself that it wasn’t _his_ Killian.

“You’re always dashing.” David said, earning himself a pleased smile from the pirate.

“Just make sure that he reminds occupied and doesn’t return to The Jolly Roger, and I’ll take care of the rest.” Hook said, resting his elbow on the wooden table in front of him, as he tried to stay shielded from any prying eyes that might notice there was actually two of him in the same tavern. It was so long ago that Hook had been that man, that drunken and foolish pirate that didn't care about anything but revenge and getting drunk, but he still remembered it too well. So much wasted time.

“This is the worst idea ever.” David said “You- He- Whatever, will recognize me.”

“I had never seen you before, love.” Hook said and David cocked his head to the side.

“You know what I mean.” David said “You’ll recognize me in the future, we’ll change things again."

“Not likely.” Hook said “Whatever he does or doesn’t do, he’ll blame it on the rum, probably won’t remember a thing.”

“You’re sure?” David asked, still in disbelief of the whole plan. He couldn't help but notice how Hook referred to himself as a 'he' though, like it wasn't himself sitting in the corner. This was all giving David a massive headache. 

“Aye.” Hook replied “Just make sure no one else recognizes you and you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry.” David said “This isn’t exactly the kind of place where people who also attend royal balls hangs out.” He didn't mention that it was too far away from the home where he'd lived a simple, shepherd life with his mother for anyone to recognize his face. 

“I’m going to try not to get offended by that.” Hook said as he glanced one last time over his shoulder to see if his past self was still busy drinking, flirting and gambling away all his money. When he turned around again, David was pulling off his cape.

“What are you doing?” Hook asked.

“Making sure he stays occupied.” David said “I have a feeling I might be his type.”

“Wait.” Hook said and grabbed David’s arm as he got up from the table “That man, you don’t know him, be careful.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were jealous.” David said, clearly amused by the whole situation. Hook only looked irritated. “You know you don’t have to be, right?” he asked, and neither of them was sure if David was still talking about past-Hook.

“Good luck.” Was all Hook said before he turned to leave the tavern, leaving David to get on the plan. 

Taking a deep breath, David ruffled his hair before making his way towards the table where Hook was sitting. He had a feeling that charming past-Hook wouldn’t be too difficult.

“Hey, there.” He said as he leaned over the table, making sure that the pirate knew he was flirting, and not just interested in a game of dice. “What are you playing?”

The look on the pirate’s face made it clear that he had done it right.

It didn’t take long before the man had discarded the women that had been all over him, and was giving David all his attention. David knew exactly what to say and what to do to please the young captain and it amazed David how different this version of Hook was, even though he wasn't so different from the Hook he had first met. It only made him admire the man he loved even more, seeing how far he had come.

“I’ve heard so many stories.” David said softly as he traced the pirate’s hook with his fingers.

“You’ve heard of me then?” Hook asked, both seeming proud and a little suspicious. The latter was not good, so David poured them another drink. The drunker Hook got, the better, especially since David had discreetly been throwing half of his own drinks over his shoulder to avoid getting drunk.

“I have.” David answered.

“And yet I don’t even know your name.”

David offered him a grin “What fun would that be, _captain_?”

“We’re just ships passing in the night then?” Hook asked, and leaned in closer to David, and David wasn’t sure if he should feel guilty or not for the tingling feeling in his stomach. “Speaking of ships, how about I show you mine?”

As Hook went to get up, David put a hand on his thigh to make him sit back down. The gesture was so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time; it almost made him a little dizzy.

“How about we have a few more drinks first?” David asked, bringing the cup to Hook’s lips.

David almost surprised himself at how good he was at this whole flirting thing, it wasn’t something he had done a lot on his life, and never like this. He was guessing it was because this was Hook, that it made things so much easier, and actually kind of fun. He couldn’t wait to tease his own Hook about how easy he had been.

After a few more drinks though, David wasn’t able to keep Hook from wanting to go back to the ship any longer. David felt flushed by the images that made it’s way into his brain when he thought about both Hook’s in the captain’s quarters.

Seeing _The Jolly Roger_ in front of them, he pretended to feel lightheaded and told Hook he needed to sit down for a bit. Hook only laughed and put his hand around David’s waist for support, grinning against the side of his neck. “Nonsense, we’re almost there.”

Then someone walked past them and even with the hood on, David could still recognize Snow in a heartbeat. “Actually I feel much better.” He said, as he let Hook guide him onto the ship.

“Behold, the Rolly Joger!” Hook slurred, and yes, clearly, David had given him one drink too many.

“Captain, I thought you were still below deck.” Said a short man in a red hat, that David was pretty sure was Smee.

Oh no, so Killian was still onboard. This was not good.

“What are you-“ Hook asked, but David quickly put both arms around the pirate, squeezing him tightly.

“I seem to remember that I was promised a night cap!” He said, knowing Hook was too drunk to recognize the desperation in his voice. “How about you find one and I’ll be waiting for you?”

Hook let out a drunken laugh, and David winked at him once before he hurried below deck.

Killian’s eyes were on him in a second and it hit him like a ton of brick how easy it was for him to know that this was his Killian.

“What are you doing here?” David asked.

“I can ask the same of you.” Hook answered “I thought you were going to keep him occupied.”

“I tried, I am.” David said “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

“You took him back to my ship.”

“His ship.”

“You know what I mean.” Hook said “What were you thinking? I know what he was thinking, bringing you back here, that’s for sure.”

David sighed “I’ll try to keep him above deck-“

But before he could say anything else, the other Hook made his way down the stairs and his own Hook tried to hide. It was all very confusing.

“Thought you were having second thoughts?” Past-Hook said, and David grinned at him.

“Not at all, I was just tired of waiting.” David said with a smirk, and because it seemed like a good enough distraction as any, he kissed him.

Unlike with his Killian, where the taste of rum only lingered as moment or two when he kissed him, the taste washed over him now along with the smell of alcohol. Grabbing onto the pirate’s leather jacket he tried to pull him away from the stairs so that Killian could sneak back up, but it seemed like he had other plans. Before David knew what was happening, the man he was kissing was being dragged away from him, and then punched straight across the jaw.

“What the hell?” David asked, as he looked to the unconscious Hook on the floor. “You hit him?”

“He was asking for it.” Hook said “He’ll blame the rum, it won’t have any consequences.”

“You are such an idiot.”

“Let’s just get out of here.” Hook said, but before David could make his way the two steps to the stairs, Hook’s hand was on the back of his neck pulling him into a passionate kiss.

When he pulled back, breathless and laughing, resting his forehead against Hook’s, he couldn’t help but trace his thumb across the other man’s cheek. “I definitely prefer this version of you.”

“Don’t judge me by who I used to be.” Hook breathed out “I’m not proud of him.”

“I won’t let our pasts get in the way of us, if you won’t.” David said, knowing full well that Hook understood what he was really talking about.

“We should go.” Was all Hook said as he let go of David and hurried upstairs.

David’s fingers twitched to touch the other man for a moment or two before he followed after him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

While sitting next to David and watching the fireworks in the sky above the castle where the party was taking place, Hook tried his best not to talk about the inevitable. David wasn't making it easy for him though, since the pirate wasn't saying anything, the prince decided to.

“You’ve been acting distant ever since we got here.” David said, resting his arms on his knees. Hook knew he was looking at him, but he didn’t dare to turn his head to see his eyes. “You said that you’d been thinking about what would have happened if we had met first…”

“Aye.” Hook replied. At first it seemed like David was waiting for him to say something else, but when he realized that wasn’t happening, he decided to give another push.

“I thought we were passed this.” David said, he sounded a bit sad, which Hook hated.

“We are.” Hook said, and then hesitated for a moment before adding; “We were.”

“What changed?” David asked, his voice didn’t sound judging, just curious. Hook wasn’t sure if this made him feel better or worse.

“Just something Bae- um, Neal said.” Hook said “It sort of got stuck in my head, don’t worry about it, love.”

“What?” David asked “You talked to Neal about us?”

Hook looked at him then and raised an eyebrow “Neal is a friend, one of the few I have.”

David sighed “I know.” He said “I didn’t mean it like that, of course you can talk to him, I just wished you would talk to me as well.”

Hook took a deep breath “Honestly? The war is over, and I have absolutely no idea what our next move is.”

David opened his mouth to answer, but he seemed to realize he didn’t know the answer and closed it again.

“The walls between the realms are down and we can travel freely again.” Hook continued, “You have a life in the enchanted forest, you have one in Storybrooke, you can chose what to do, me on the other hand.

“You can have a life with me.” David said and then took a breath and looked out at the castle again.

“It’s a little funny how you say that when we are waiting for you to start a life with Snow.”

“Something I do not wish to leave to chance.”

Hook and David both turned around to see Rumpelstilskin standing behind them. Excellent timing. “Luckily, I never do.” The two of them raised their eyebrows in confusion as they got up from the ground and walked towards the man.

With a swift move, he had an envelope in his hand that David recognized as a royal invitation. “You want us to go in there?” he asked “If I remember correctly, I am pretty sure I didn’t bump into another me that night.” 

“I’ve found out a way to bring you back home.” Rumpelstilskin said “A wand I possess can re-create any magic, seems to be your best bet at the time.”

“Great, you work on that.” Hook said “But that still doesn’t explain how we can go into the ball unnoticed?”

Rumpelstilskin held up a mirror then, which Hook hadn’t even noticed that he’d conjured, then there was a red smoke all around them. When it disappeared, Hook looked into the mirror and saw two people he did not recognize.

A glamour spell. Kind of genius. Would make their job a lot easier. Luckily David and Hook still saw each other as they were, just with a wardrobe change. It was a bit unsettling, seeing the two men in the mirror, knowing that it was really them. They looked like they could do whatever they wanted, be whatever they wanted. Hook shook the thought away and gestured towards the castle.

"Shall we?"

On their way in, David hooked his arms with Hook and breathed out nervously.

“I would think I would be the nervous one in this setting.” Hook said “It’s your engagement celebration, smile.”

David gave him a look, but couldn’t help but to do what Hook had told him and offered the other man a genuine smile. “It’s just so unreal, all of this.”

Hook felt a sting of guilt, too wrapped up in his own emotions that still weren’t completely focused, he hadn’t given much thought to how weird the situation was to David. He literally had the opportunity to change his entire life in the palm of his hand, but he couldn’t risk it.

“Welcome.” A voice said, and Hook looked up to see a man with curly hair and bright eyes looking at them “I am king Midas, who do I have the honor of welcoming into my home?”

Hook was at a complete loss of words, and opened his mouth to say _something_ “I am… Prince…”

“William.” David continued, and thank god, because Hook wasn’t even able to think of a single name. “And I am prince… Caspian.” He said. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“An honor.” Said the king, and Hook bowed once before practically dragging David away.

“Prince Caspian?” Hook asked, “Do you know him?”

David chuckled and shook his head “No, it’s from a movie, or a book actually.”

“Aren’t we all?”

David couldn’t argue with that.

“So that was your father-in-law?” Hook asked, gesturing to the king.

“Never really got that far, but yes.” David replied with a nod.

Hook didn’t answer, just looked around the room to get a feeling of the whole setting.

“I used to love these balls.” David said “The clothes, the food, the _dancing_.”

Hook wondered if that meant that he was going to stay in the Enchanted Forest, Emma and Regina had thought about going back to the real world, now that they had the opportunity to pretty much travel back and forth, but they had decided that in the end, it would be Henry’s choice. Hook always figured that David would go wherever Emma would... Or Snow. He still wasn't sure what the situation was with them yet.

“Well, then.” Hook said, and gently took David’ hand “Let’s blend in.”

To say that it was amusing to watch David’s expression when Hook led him through the first dance was an understatement. Clearly he had never thought that Hook would be able to dance like this, and Hook couldn’t help but grin as he put his lips to David’s ear.

“Not what you expected, love?”

David chuckled “As I keep saying, you never seize to surprise me.”

“You know, David.” Hook said “I know you’re worried about your role now that Snow has Robin, and Regina is ruling with you and your family.”

“How did you-“

“I just thought you should know…” Hook continued, not letting David get another word in “That you are most definitely a prince, with a princess or not.”

David grinned and leaned in to kiss the bridge of Hook’s nose. When Hook turned his head slightly he could see another familiar face, well, the same one actually.

“There you are.” Hook said and nodded towards past-David “I’m just going to refer to him as Charming if you don’t mind, this whole situation is confusing enough as it is.”

“Please do.” David said, without knowing that the reason Hook chose that nickname was because Charming was Snow’s, while David was his.

“Your fiancé seems a little cold.” Hook said, trying to watch Abigail and Charming while still letting David lead him dancing around the room.

“It’s a long story.” David answered, “She lost her true love.”

“And you’re about to find yours.” Hook said “Hardly seems fair.”

“She’ll find him again.” Was all David answered.

“A happy ending then?” Hook asked, keeping his eyes locked on David, not even knowing why he was smiling.

David nodded “Hopefully, you never know until the story’s over.”

“So everyone can have a happy ending is what you’re saying?” Hook asked, his eyebrows quirked and his eyes gleaming. “As long as you know where to end the story?”

Before David could answer, the doors flew open.

“Regina.” David said on a breath, and at first both of them panicked before they realized that the queen would not be able to recognize them. “She was invited.”

“Of course she was.” Hook replied, he could only imagine what would happened to the poor king if she wasn’t. When the queen made her way inside the room, accompanied by a few black knights, Hook noticed they had lost track of their mission. “You’re gone, eh, Charming.”

“Oh, no.” David said and before they could react, two knights made their way to the king and announced that Snow White was in the castle.

“Come on.” David said and gripped Hook’s hand tighter “This way.”

Through their short cut on their way through the castle, they were suddenly on top of the wall and Snow White was climbing down.

“She did it!” David said happily as he saw her running away from the castle “She must have been able to steal the ring.”

“That’s it, then?” Hook asked and before David could answer, Charming’s head popped out of the window above them.

“You can’t hide from me!” His voice roared after Snow who was riding away “Wherever you are, I will find you!”

“Sounds about right.” David commented, and Hook didn’t know if he should laugh or not. “Mission accomplished, now we-“

Suddenly David was knocked into Hook as a black knight pushed them away and aimed an arrow for Snow’s head.

“No!” David said and pushed the knight to the ground. Hook almost wanted to groan at the bad luck they seemed to be having. At least the arrow missed.

“Oh, no.” David said again and Hook cursed under his breath, what now? “The ring.”

Hook looked down to see David holding up the engagement right that Snow was supposed to have stolen, she must have dropped it on her way over the castle walls.

Suddenly more guards were all around them and Hook clasped David’s hand in his and dragged him to his feet “You go!” Hook said “Go get the ring to Snow, I got this!” He quickly got his sword and was about to attack the closest guard.

David didn’t want to waste any time, but like an instinct taking over him, he reached for the back of Hook’s neck and pulled him close for a kiss. It lasted less than a second, and was more of a clash of lips than a kiss, but it was something he needed to do before running away.

He hated it. Hated leaving Hook to fight for his life while he ran after Snow, but he also knew that nothing could stand between him and getting that ring to Snow. Nothing could change. He was too scared to think of the future that might await him if it did.

David didn’t get any longer than the ballroom though, before black knights were all around him. His instinct kicked in again and instead of trying to blame it on a misunderstanding; he punched the first knight straight across the jaw. As they grabbed him, leaving him unable to move, he cursed himself. He should have known better than to pick a fight with Regina’s knights.

Speaking of, there she was.

“Going somewhere?” Regina asked, her smirk clear on her lips and it almost turned David’s stomach how different The Evil Queen was from the Regina he now knew.

“Regina…” He started, and immediately regretted it.

“A bit informal for your queen, wouldn’t you say?” Regina asked, knowing full well she didn’t want him to answer, David kept his mouth shut. “Snow White may have left the party early, but I have a feeling you know where she might be heading.”

If she only knew.

“Take him away.”

David just prayed that they wouldn’t find Hook as well. Then all would be lost. Feeling the engagement ring in the palm of his hand, made him wonder if it already was.


	5. Chapter 5

_«Hey, man.» Neal said as he made his way into David and Hook’s quarters in the castle. “You were quiet at dinner today, it almost seems like you are upset about us winning the war.”_

_Hook tilted his head to the side “Do you ever knock?” he asked “And I’m fine.”_

_Neal nodded, not looking like he believed him at all. As he took another step forward, he made sure to look Hook in the eye “I noticed you told that same lie to Emma when she asked, but you’re forgetting something.”_

_“And what’s that?” Hook asked as he leaned against the wall beside the window._

_Neal smiled and crossed his arms over his chest “I know you.”_

_“You puzzle me, Bae.” Hook said “Neal, whatever you go by these days, you always have.”_

_“Why is that?”_

_Hook shrugged, not answering the question. Neal’s smile stayed on his lips._

_“When I first met her, Emma asked me what my story was.” Neal said “Funny choice of words, I know.”_

_“Must have been hard to explain.”_

_Neal nodded. “She got it though.” Neal said “Besides you know my story so I won’t have to tell it to you, but she wondered that if my life hadn’t always been screwed up, why I never went back and tried to fix it.”_

_“Because you can’t go back.” Hook said “Not really.”_

_“Exactly.” Neal said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “But I told her about how it was like before dad went…”_

_“Crazy?” Hook suggested, and Neal nodded. He couldn’t really argue there._

_“It was home.” Neal said “I told her that that’s how you know you got a home, that when you leave it, you miss it.”_

_Hook didn’t answer, and Neal hadn’t expected it to._

_“Hey, man.” Neal said and Hook met his eyes again._

_“Thanks for looking out for me.” He said “All those years ago, I haven’t forgotten.”_

Hook didn’t know if he should be amused by the situation taking place in front of him, under other circumstances he might have been. Now all he could think about what, what if he had met David first. What if he had been the one caught in a net above the young prince’s head right now, probably either flirting or threaten to get him to release him.

It was a stupid thought of course. He knew who he had been back then and there was no way David would have fallen for him. On some level it would have been easier if he had never made his way to Storybrooke in the first place, but then he probably would have still been blinded by his hatred for Rumpelstilskin. If there was one path he shouldn’t have taken to save himself all this heartache, it was when he decided to stay with David in Neverland.

The thought was only there for a second though before his mind wandered to how awful it would have been for the other man alone there, without hope. Hopefully things had turned out the way it was supposed to.As Charming was calling Snow a thieving scum, Hook couldn’t help to feel a little uneasy. Was this always the way it was with the other man? He tried to look back on how their own relationship had developed, it seemed strangely familiar to what he was now seeing.

Speaking of:

“I don’t have your ring.”

“And why don’t I believe you?”

That seemed to be his cue.

“Because she’s telling you the truth.” Hook said as he walked out from the tree he had been hiding behind, witnessing the scene in which David had gotten his nickname, and gave a slight bow to Charming.

“Prince William.” He said “I attended your ball the other night, lovely music, though the mutton was a bit overcooked.”

Seeing the confused looks of both Snow and Charming, he decided to stop with the formalities and cut straight to the case.

“Snow White doesn’t have your ring.” He said and looked to Snow. She seemed so young, but unlike Charming, already so experienced with the cruelties of the world. “My prince does.”

At least that wasn’t a lie.

“I need your help to get him back.” Hook said.

David tilted his head to the side “Your prince, huh?”

“Don’t be so closed-minded.” Snow said from up in her net, and Hook couldn’t help but snicker at the whole situation.

“I’m not.” David insisted, and yes, Hook believed it. “He has my ring?”

Hook almost answered with an ‘aye’, before he caught himself. “Yes.” He said.

“Where is he?”

Hook bit his lip before answering “Slight problem, the queen’s castle.”

“Not a problem at all.” Snow said, “It used to be mine, I can get you in.”

Well, that seemed like a good deal in Hook’s ears since the plan was to reunite Snow and Charming all along. He shrugged at the thought. When had this become his mission? He had lost tracked of all the years he’d spent trying to reunite himself with the prince that stole his heart and now? It seemed like he had fallen into a different dimension, not just a different timeline.

“I’ll help you.” Snow said “You can get your prince back.” She said and looked to Hook “And you’ll get your ring.” She turned to Charming “And I never have to see your charming face again.”

Hook had to stop himself from scoffing, when he looked to David he couldn’t help but recognize the look. It was the same one he used to give him back in Neverland whenever he was impressed or grateful for the fact that Hook treated him like a human being and not just royalty.

They got a carriage and Hook secured them passage through the woods, as Charming and Snow hid in the back. He couldn’t hear everything they were saying, only something about dark fairy dust, passage on a pirate ship and how Snow had ruined the queen’s life. Hook wanted to say something, but knew it wouldn’t be wise.

When they could see the palace in the distance, Snow jumped off and told them to wait until it was dark. Hook almost felt tingly at the thought of spending some alone time with the man even though it wasn’t _his_ David.

They found a place to hide the carriage, and let the horse go back to his owner. Then they went deeper into the forest away from prying eyes and made a campfire as the sun set, waiting for Snow to return.

Hook didn’t exactly know what he could say or not say, but decided to stick to the safe subjects and asked about his upcoming marriage. That was what any normal person who didn't know the other person would do, right? 

"I'm marrying Midas' daughter, what's not to be excited about?" the other man said with no heat behind his words, like it had been practiced and repeated a hundred times.

"I don't mean to pry, mate." Hook said, but that was exactly what he was doing. "But you don't exactly seem like someone who's doing this by choice."

Hook already knew that he wasn't of course, but he had to find some way to make Charming realize that he was supposed to be with someone who loves him. And that wasn't Abigail... Or Hook, himself.

Charming groaned and looked at him "I always thought I'd marry for love." he said on a nod as his eyes went back to staring at the fire and talking about how his upcoming marriage was more of a business transaction.

"This whole thing makes me wonder if there's even such a thing as true love." Charming said, and Hook wasn't able to push back the selfish thought that was making itself into his head. How much easier it would be if he could take this David away, and they could spend the rest of their lives together without ever having to worry about anything but each other. It was so selfish and stupid, and Hook hated himself for it.

Wasn't love supposed to be about wanting the other person to be happy? David deserved all the love that Snow gave him, he deserved to know his daughter... He deserved better than Hook. Regardless, as Hook looked at him, he realized as he had many times before that there was no power on earth that could make him stop loving David. And if he was to believe what his own David had told him time and time again, that he loved him back, then all Hook should try to do was be the best that he could be for the other man. Maybe they had a chance in the end, after all.

"I once felt as you did, mate." Hook said "All it took was meeting the right person and everything changed."

It was true. He'd thought what he had with Milah was true love, but he could never be sure. He thought he'd loved Emma, but in retrospect that had been foolish, and it had probably been because he had seen so much of Milah in her, and admired her bravery so much that it had fogged his judgment. When he'd fallen for David, his world had changed again. When David had admitted his feelings back, he slowly started believing in love again.

He wasn't sure if it was true love, but what should that matter? When did ordinary love stop being good enough?

"Prince Caspian, the one we're rescuing?" Charming asked, and Hook nodded.

"Aye." He said, he really had to read that book where the prince was from. "I'd go to the end of the world for him, or time." He added. He already had, he'd traveled between realms and sacrificed his freedom, literally given away his heart. All for one man, a man who had despised him when they first met. Well, that had been mostly Hook's fault.

"And he for you, I take it?" Charming asked, and it was so intimidating having this conversation about David, with David. Granted it was another version of him, and he did not know Hook and would not recognize him, but it still felt wrong somehow, but on the other side, who would be better at giving advice? David had said earlier when Hook had admitted that he talked to Neal about them, that he'd wish Hook would talk to him instead, well, now he got his wish... Sort of.

"I don't know." Hook said on a snicker, and he felt terrible, because David kept trying to convince him that he wasn't going anywhere, but it was hard for Hook to believe him. He had another life, a better life, that Hook wasn't part of, and he could never see himself living in a castle without David and Snow, or living a "normal" life in Storybrooke. There wasn't any room for him, and he could never ask David to give up the best parts of his life for him. So where did that leave them? Would David even do it if he asked?

"What's the problem?" Charming asked as he leaned back, ready to listen to Hook's story. Wasn't the whole point of this conversation for Hook to try to convince Charming to be with Snow? Well, it couldn't hurt to get some advice first.

"There are many complications." He said.

"Family?" Charming asked "Because my father is making things quite difficult for me."

Hook knew the story of his 'father', but he couldn't exactly say anything. So he just nodded. "Yes, well, family is an issue, but not like that." Hook said "He was married before."

"Oh." Charming answered, and then it looked like he was thinking hard, before continuing "Well, did he love this woman.. Or man?" He asked, and Hook had to smirk at how shy he seemed at the thought. He had no idea. Hook wasn't even sure if it was possible for two men to get married in this kingdom, he'd been to several kingdoms and realms where it didn't matter, but it wasn't something he kept track off exactly.

"Aye." Hook said "He loved her dearly."

"Ah." Charming said, like he'd just realized the issue. "And you're afraid that he hasn't let her go?"

Hook cocked his head to the side and nodded "It's all rather complicated, but they have a daughter and they do spend a lot of time together still, and I am... Pretty sure it was true love." He said, trying not to get any questions about sleeping curses or whatnot.

"Call me crazy, but I think you can fall in love more than once." Charming said, and Hook just nodded. He knew that of course, and he wished he could tell Charming the entire story, but he'd already given away too much. Compromised too much.

"You've gone through all of this to save him." Charming said "He'd be crazy not to love you."

Hook grinned "I hope you remember that."

In the middle of their bonding moment, a figure approached them and they both hurried to their feet and got their swords out. When the figure came closer, Hook recognized her. It was Red. Or Ruby. Or whatever it was she called herself.

"Name's Red." She said when Charming asked her who she was. Okay, that cleared that. "I'm a friend of Snow's."

Oh, right.They knew each other even back then. Hook felt like he was getting a history lecture.

Getting into the castle was much easier with a werewolf on your side, that was for sure. Charming led the way towards the dungeons, and surely enough, there was David, leaning against the bars, and his eyes lit up when he saw Hook.

To keep David from seeing something stupid, Hook clearly let out a: "Caspian!" as he hurried towards him. David laughed, as Hook's fingers covered his on the bars.

"Are you alright, love?" Hook asked and David nodded.

"I knew you'd come, you took your time though." He said and looked over to Charming and raised his eyebrows in question.

"I was just humping past-you in the forest, sorry it took so long." Hook whispered, and David scowled angrily at him. "I needed to get some help, you remember Prince James from the party?"

It was easy getting David out of the cell, Hook had a lot of experience breaking out of contraptions like these and it barely took any time at all.David just whispered "Snow?" to Hook as they followed Charming and Red back outside.

Hook nodded, and swallowed hard as David's lips split into a grin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

They ran through the castle, trying to make their way to Snow White undetected. Since David had spent a lot of time there over the last few years, he led the way, with little objection from Charming who seemed completely clueless to the whole thing. Luckily for them, that saved them a lot of time and they bumped straight into Snow while cutting a corner.

She almost fell to the floor, but managed to keep herself steady, clearly she was surprised to see them.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking at all of them.

“Us?” Red asked “You were supposed to meet us outside.”

“I was just…” Snow started, clutching something that looked like a necklace in her hand. Hook didn’t recognize it, but it seemed like David did, but he didn’t say anything. “It doesn’t matter, let’s go.” She said, grabbing Red’s hand as they started running away.

When they were finally safely outside, and beyond the gates of the castle, Hook bumped shoulders with David and lowered his voice so the others wouldn’t hear them “What was that about?” he asked, and David sighed.

“I think it was the dark fairy dust.” David answered back “The one she uses to save me on the troll bridge.”

“Oh.” Hook said “Still doesn’t explain what she was doing.”

David sighed again, and waited a moment before answering, making sure that none of the others could hear him “I think she was planning on using it on Regina.” He said “It makes sense that she would, given the opportunity she was presented.”

Hook’s eyebrows shot up. “That never would have worked, not with the kind of magic Regina has.”

David shook his head “She was often reckless when it came to these things.”

“Good thing we bumped into her then, might have taken a really bad turn.” Hook said, bumping his shoulders with David again. The man turned his head and smiled at him.

“Yeah.” He answered.

“Hey.” Charming suddenly said as he stopped dead in his tracks ahead of them “Do you have my ring?”

“Oh yeah.” David said as he fished it out of his pocket and gave it to Charming, who offered him his gratitude.

The next morning, Snow said her goodbyes to Red, and then made her way towards Charming with uneasy steps. David and Hook were watching them from afar, taking it all in, making sure that things were finally back to normal.

“They should be heading for the troll bridge next.” David said, his voice way too casual for someone who was reliving meeting the love of his life. “Then everything should be back on track.”

“Good that.” Hook replied with a slight nod of his head, as David scooted closer to him. They could barely hear Charming thanking Snow for helping them, but they seemed to ease up to each other.

“So tell me.” David said “What did you talk to him about?” he said and gestured towards Charming, Hook wetted his lips and leaned back on the tree behind him.

“You’ll remember soon enough, won’t you?” Hook said “Once we get back home.”

“I should, shouldn’t I?” David asked with a certain amount of cockiness behind his words. “Is there anything you’re going to be embarrassed about?”

Hook laughed “Possibly.”

“Hey.” David said, putting his hand on Hook’s chin, and making the other man look at him “Thank you for saving me.”

“You would have figured it out yourself, I reckon.” Hook replied, with a nervous chuckle. It was uncomfortable being so intimate with David, when Snow and Charming was just a few feet away, getting to know each other for the first time.

“I don’t just mean tonight.” David answered, and offered the pirate a smile. “Seems like you’re always saving me.”

“Somebody has to.”

Then Snow was leaving and Hook looked worryingly after her as he noticed that Charming was not following her. “Snow…”

“Don’t worry.” David said “Let’s give her a head-start.”

Charming made his way towards them, then and nodded politely at the two of them. Standing proud with his hands on his hips, he grinned at them.

“You okay?” He asked David, which was just plain weird no matter how you tried to explain it. Hook coughed, trying to hide his inability to cope with the situation.

“Yes, I am fine.” David answered “Thanks for helping me, that was really brave.”

“Really?” Hook asked, and to Charming that might seem plain rude, even though Hook was just trying to maintain David’s ego.

“Yes, well…” Charming said “I should probably get back to my fiancé.” He said as he patted his breast pocket before his eyes widened and he frantically started searching all of his pockets.

“My ring!” he exclaimed “She took it!”

“Oh, really?” David asked, almost unable to hold back his amusement. “Do you know where she went?”

A few moments later Charming was running after Snow to get his ring back, and David and Hook were left behind, grinning at him.

“Good thing she didn’t use that dust.” David said “She’s going to need it.”

“Aye.” Hook answered “True love saves the day, once again I take it?”

David gave him a look, before taking Hook’s hand in his. “You ready to go home?”

Hook faked a smile and nodded “Aye.” He said again, home, well, his home was David, and his home was the Jolly Roger and he knew that he couldn’t have both.

The journey back to the dark castle wasn’t as long as they thought it would be, and before they knew it, they were bursting through the door announcing their victory.

“So how is the portal coming along?” David asked “You can open it, right?”

Rumpelstilskin, who was currently mixing some kind of potions together in a bowl raised his arms and shrugged his shoulders. “I cannot.”

Hook and David shared a look then.

“Then what are you working on?” David asked.

“A forgetting potion.” He answered “For me, so I won’t know about my future.”

“What about the wand?” David asked desperately, Rumpelstilskin picked it up and threw it at David.

“The portal can only be opened by those who used it.” He said, clearly not too upset about the situation. Well, too bad for him, because both Hook and David were pretty upset and desperate at the moment. “So unless you can wield magic…”

“So you just expect us to stay here?” Hook asked through gritted teeth. He was mad as he was finally getting used to the thought that when they got back, Snow would still be there, and that she would always be David’s true love. “What about protecting your precious future?”

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do.” He answered, a mischievous tone in his voice. “I am going to store you the same place I put the magic that is too dark, even for me.”

And with that they disappeared into a puff of smoke and reappeared in a dark room, that looked like it was somewhere underground. It was big, and looked like some kind of a vault. Hook looked to David and noticed he was wearing the same clothes they had left the Enchanted Forest in. As he breezed past a mirror, he saw that he too was back to his old self.

“Oh, great.” He said “I am devishly handsome again.”

“That’s just terrific.” David answered sarcastically. Hook just grinned at him. They took a look around, and of course, Hook started touching stuff he shouldn’t be touching.

“Don’t do that! David said “The last thing I want is for you to get turned into a frog or something and then I’m stuck here alone.”

“Thanks for the compassion, love.” Hook replied, as he put down the cup he was holding. “I was just trying to find a way out.”

“There isn’t one, we can’t open the portal….” David said and then he turned to Hook and hurried over to him in quick steps “You can do it.”

“What?” Hook asked.

“He said we only need magic, you have magic.” David said “I’ve seen it.”

Hook shook his head “Not here.” He answered, shaking his head, not even looking down to where David was trying to hand him the wand.

“I know you can do it.” David said “It’s time to stop running, Killian.”

“That’s not what this is about, I can’t do it!” Hook yelled back, hating how desperate his voice sounded. He looked down to the floor and brought his palm over his mouth. “It’s not about running anymore.”

“Oh really?” David asked “That’s what you do, isn’t it?”

Hook didn’t answer, just looked David straight in the eye.

“I know you’re scared of what’s at the other end of that portal, I know you’re worried that you don’t fit in anywhere.” David said and Hook felt his breath hitched as David said just the exact thing he didn’t want to hear out loud. “Well you do, you belong with me.”

“I do.” Hook answered then, taking David by surprise “I know I can’t rule a kingdom, and I certainly don’t know how to live a normal life with you in Storybrooke, but I don’t care.”

“What do you mean?” David asked.

“Ever since I fell in love with you, I’ve stopped running away.” Hook stated, taking another step closer to David, almost breathing the same air as David did. “Haven’t you noticed?”

David smiled “You stayed in Neverland for me.” He said “You stopped running from things-“

“And started running _to you._ ” Hook said, leaning his forehead against David’s. “Seeing you with Snow, it was so hard, but if that really is in your past.”

“It is.” David said “She’s part of my family, but so are you.” He breathed out happily “No, you’re more than that, you’re my future.”

“Promise me.” Hook said, and David leaned in and kissed him chastely on the lips, before bringing their noses together. “I missed you.” Hook breathed out.

David smiled, and Hook was glad that he understood what he had meant. “You don’t have a home until you just miss it.” David answered and Hook leaned back to look at him.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Something Emma told me.” David replied, and Hook had to laugh. Well, then.             

“You’re my home.” Hook answered, and David brought their fingers together on the wand, and they immediately saw how it was glowing in Hook’s hand.

David smiled, and Hook let out an honest laugh. How about that.

“Told you.” David said

“Ready to see your daughter?” Hook asked and David nodded as Hook wielded the wand and re-created the portal.

“You have no idea.” David replied as he grabbed Hook's hand. "I love you."

Hook squeezed his fingers "I was hoping you would."


	7. Chapter 7

They fell through the portal and landed on hard stone. They were back in the Enchanted Forest, and in the right time too. That was quite the relief.

“How are you?” Hook immediately asked as he pulled David up from the ground. David brushed some dirt off his clothes and looked up to meet Hook’s eyes, the grin that formed on his face was enough of an answer, and Hook grinned too as he leaned in and kissed the other man.

“We did it!” David said proudly, after pulling back from the kiss and framing the other man’s face in his hands.

“Aye.” Hook answered, and then David got a puzzled look on his face, before he took a step back and hit the other man in the arm. “Ow!” Hook exclaimed.

“ _I hope you remember that_?” David yelled, and it took Hook a moment before realizing what it was David was so upset about. “You asked past-me about relationship advice? On _our_ relationship?”

“You were very good.” Hook said, trying to lighten the mood, but David did not seem amused at all. “Hey, we just had a great moment, why spoil it?”

“Because I just remembered what you said about Snow, and Emma and-“

“Yes, but that was before my heartfelt realization back there!” Hook answered, and in his defense, it wasn’t his fault that David couldn’t remember it happening until now.

“Well, I just remembered it now.” David said “You’re an idiot.”

“I gathered that, thank you.” Hook replied and David just sighed heavily, and stomped off like a six-year old. “You still love me though, right?” he asked as he ran after him.

“Yes.” David said “Lucky you.”

“Lucky me, indeed.” Hook said with a cheery grin on his face as he grabbed David by the waist and leaned in to kiss him again; David soon melted in his arms and returned the kiss, sneaking his arms around Hook’s neck.

“You’re still an idiot.” David said once they broke apart, and Hook just smirked cheekily at him. “How long do you think we were gone?”

“Not that long, doesn’t seem like anyone’s looking for us.” Hook said, before David gave him one last kiss on the bridge of Hook’s nose. “You figured out what you wanna do now?”

“First I just want to see my daughter.” David answered with a genuine smile on his face, and Hook nodded in understanding. He reckoned that after this, they would just end up wherever Emma and Regina decided to live with Henry.

“So you think everything is back to normal?” David had asked.

“I know it is.” Hook replied “Otherwise I would have remembered that man in the bar that seduced me.”

David cocked his head to the side “How would that prove anything?”

“I know how you kiss.” Hook said, leaning in closer to David again. “I would have gone after him.”

David smiled.

“But I didn’t and my life went on exactly the same as before.”

“Yeah, must have been the rum.” David said, as he put his arms around Hook’s neck “Besides, your days where you feel like you have to go running after me are over.”

“Promise?” Hook asked, his eyes glistening with both hope and mischief. It was a lot to take in, everything that the two of them had been through. David never wanted Hook to compare their relationship with the one he used to have with Snow, but he always understood that it must have been difficult. Now though, it seemed like Hook was finally ready to let all of that go. It was a brilliant feeling of relief. With Snow, David remembered being told that he had to believe in them. The way he had told Hook several times that he had to believe in them too. Now they could finally move forward.

"Promise." David said, before kissing him again.

On their ride back to the castle it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from Hook’s shoulders, and David was laughing more than he had in a long time. It had only taken some time travel for them to realize that their problems wasn’t as big of a deal as they made them out to be. Sure, Hook was still connected to an island far far away, and would probably never truly fit in in David’ life, and David was technically still married to Snow, who was carrying someone else’s baby, but at least they had each other.

They had always said that, back in Neverland, that as long as they had each other to rely on then everything else would just work itself out, when had they lost track of that?

David had ran into Emma’s arms and picked her up, twirling her around the room. Emma had no idea what was going on, but let out a happy laugh. David then ruffled Henry’s hair and told him he had missed them.

“Did you go on an adventure to Neverland again?” Neal asked “Because this time we barely noticed you were gone.”

Hook shook his head and patted Neal on the back “Not exactly, mate.”

They decided to tell them all the story of what had happened, and everyone was listening with such intensity that it was almost scary. It was only natural though, since they had almost messed up all of their lives.

“I can’t believe that was you.” Snow said as they were going through Henry’s old fairytale book with the pictures of them, now some of them had changed slightly. “That was why you acted so jealous!” She said as she looked up to Hook, who just seemed insulted.

Everyone else thought it was hilarious though, and David smacked him across the chest.

“I was not jealous.” Hook stated.

“Oh, please.” David said.

“Shut up.”

“Caspian?” Henry asked and looked to his grandfather “Really?”

“I liked that movie.” David said, even though it had literally been years since he had last seen it.

The next couple of days were just a blur, mostly spent with getting the kingdom back together and organizing everything that had been ruined while Zelena had terrorized the land. It made David miss the old days, when he had longed for adventure. Regina and Snow were doing a brilliant job at working together, even now that they didn’t have a common enemy.

Neal and Robin helped David send out troops to the villages that had been struck, to get them back on their feet. Emma was a born leader and had no problem in delegating responsibility to all the council members, and still have family time with Regina and Henry. It was a blessing to see, it was everything David had hoped for, everything he had missed. There was one in particular that he wished he had seen more of the last couple of days though, and that someone was currently sitting on one of the rocks below the castle, looking out on the sea.

David almost fell in the water a couple of times as he tried making his way towards him. “Hey!” he said and Hook turned his head and smiled when he saw David approach.

“Your highness.” He said, and David sent him a unamused look as he sat down next to him.

“This is beautiful.” David said “I usually prefer the view from up there.” He said and pointed a finger towards the balcony high above them. He had never actually sat on the rocks below before. The tide wasn’t very reliable.

“I like it a little more up close.” Hook admitted as he leaned his arms on his knees, and then rested his head on top of his forearms.

“How are you feeling?” David asked.

“Can’t complain.” Hook said “I should probably have helped out more these last few days, eh?”

David brushed him off with a movement of his hand “Don’t worry about it, everyone’s got it covered.”

“Glad to hear it.” Hook answered, and David was immediately worried that he’d said something wrong-

“Not that you’re not needed, that is-“ he started rambling and Hook laughed as he leaned over and put a finger to Davis’ lips.

“If I kiss you will you keep quiet?”

David smiled “Only one way to find out.”

Hook kissed him sweetly, and David savored the taste of him mixed with the smell of the seawater, it reminded him off all the kisses they had shared on the Jolly Roger back in Neverland. “Do you still feel it?” he asked, as he leaned back a bit. Hook nodded.

“Aye.”

“Does it hurt?” David asked and Hook shook his head.

“It’s sort of like pull, difficult to explain.” He said, “It gets better and better.”

“But?” David asked.

“I feel like I have unfinished business there.” Hook replied, “I wanted to restore Neverland to the place where children could go in their dreams, somewhere safe.”

David grinned then, and Hook frowned “What?”

“Nothing.” David said “Let’s do it.”

“What?” Hook asked, “Have you gone mad?” he didn’t think David would ever want to leave the Enchanted Forest again.

“I talked to Emma and Regina earlier about what they are planning to do.” David said “I said that I would go wherever Emma went.”

“And?”

“And she told me I was an idiot.” David said, and cocked his head to the side “I think her exact words were ‘ _for god’s sake dad, don’t put all that on me, go play pirate with Hook or_ _something_ ’.”

“You would make a good pirate.” Hook said “Already got the sword skills and the dashing captain.”

“Hmm.” David said “And the ship?”

“You have a ship?” Hook asked “Of course you do, you’re the king-prince, what are you now?”

David shrugged “Beats me.” He said “And I wasn’t talking about the royal navy ships, I was talking about the Jolly Roger.”

“She’s in Neverland.” Hook replied “I gave her up to find you.” He tried to hide the sadness in his voice, but he would be lying if he didn’t say that he missed her greatly. David still felt a sting of guilt hearing it, even though he knew Hook didn't have much of a choice back then. David was just grateful that Hook's heart was back in his chest, and he could make decisions based on his own feelings and desires again. 

“I know.” David said “So we’re just going to have to go and get her back.”

“Where are you going with this conversation, again?” Hook asked, as David seemed to be all over the place.

“Jefferson have no problem jumping through the realms now, we can go wherever we want to go.” David said “I love that ship of yours as well, I have some _very_ fond memory on that boat.”

Hook hummed and brought a hand to David’s knee “I remember.”

“So we’ll go back, we’ll restore Neverland to it’s proper glory, it's not like anything would be keeping us from leaving, you own the place.” David said “Then we’ll get your ship and take the _long_ way home, what to you say?”

“What about rebuilding the kingdom?” Hook asked, but David could tell he was already getting excited by the idea and was ready to leave any minute. David smiled and palmed Hook’s face in his hands.

“I’ve already talked to Snow and Emma.” He said, his voice low and soothing “What do you say, captain? Ready for one more adventure with me?”

Hook grinned and kissed him. “Ready when you are.”


	8. Epilouge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it you guys, thank you so much for sticking with me through all the horrible grammar mistakes and short chapters! I will start uploading chapters of the "A Different Kind Of Faiyrtale" fic next week, if you haven't heard of it, just search for the fic name on youtube and you can find the trailer there:)

Once upon a time there was a young prince, a hero who slayed dragons and fell in love with a princess. They married, and had a daughter. After facing the kind of obstacles that every fairytale calls for, they were reunited and was ready to live happily ever after.

In this fairytale there was also pirate, some would call him dashing, but most just called him cocky. Like in most stories, it was easy to spot him as the villain, with his evil smirk, dark clothing and a metal hook instead of a hand. The prince did not care for him, and would gladly rid of him, the way that a hero normally would a villain.

But you see, in most fairytales there is always more to the story then what you’ve been told.

For the prince, as it turned out, was really a shepherd in disguise. But his heart was pure and his intentions good, so he fitted the role of the hero after all.

While the villain was still a pirate, he wasn’t always so, for he used to be lieutenant of the king, but he was struck with loss, grief and betrayal and his broken heart turned towards darker cause.

But this is a fairytale after all, and there has to be a true villain in it all. So the pirate and the hero learned to fight together side by side. Little did they know that that was exactly where they belonged.

Over the years there was friendship, and confusion, love and heartbreak. It turned out that falling in love could be a lot like falling apart.

It turned out our villain wasn’t a villain after all, he was a hero as well. Because, as the pirate had been told, all heroes needs someone to believe in them, and much to everyone's surprise, that turned out to be the young prince himself.

It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t always feel right, but it was love, and it was home and that was enough. There was no true love’s kiss or a sleeping curse to prove it, nor was there always the possibility of a happily ever after.

It was not a fairytale in the traditional sense. It was just a story about two people falling in love, not for the sake of a happy ending, but despite of the chance of ever having one.

 


End file.
